My Very First Post

August 29, 2015.  My life changed forever.  That was the day my 91 year old mother passed away.  I had lived with her for almost 10 years, this being possible, having been single since my kids were toddlers.   We were together almost 24 hours a day.  As the years went by she needed more and more help with everyday things.  I don’t want to talk about her last days, but instead say how much her passing has affected me.  They say no matter how old you are, when your parents are gone, you feel like an orphan.  I guess that’s why I feel like I do.  I miss her every day, but so glad she is living without pain now.

There is a “however” to this story.  At almost 61 years old, I have a new life ahead of me.  I don’t know what that means yet, other than a move across country.  I guess that’s where this story really begins.

On November 8, 2015, my daughter, Elaina and I started out in my 2003 Honda Civic and drove across country to her home in North Carolina.  I was emotional at times and anxious about the future.  When we arrived in North Carolina at the state line, I was very emotional.  Excited and anxious all at once.  The beauty I saw there was overwhelming to me which added to my emotions. (The long tiring trip may have had something to do with the emotions.) Besides the pine trees everywhere, the fall colors were still abundant in the other trees.

We had to stop in Raleigh to pick up Elaina’s car at airport parking, so that meant I was on my own driving my car from Raleigh to Jacksonville in the dark, following her car all the way.  If I remember correctly, it was a three hour drive.  This was a little terrifying and daunting to me.  I’m such a chicken to begin with.  Because it was dark, and very little street lighting all I saw for the majority of the drive was DARKNESS.  There was nothing but forest on both sides of the road and almost no other cars other than Elaina’s.  It felt like I was in a black hole in space.  I’ve never experienced anything like it before.

I felt such relief when we got to her house in Jacksonville.  It is a cute little house (it has its problems believe me) and feels like a cabin in the woods.  There’s more trees in the backyard than I’ve ever seen in a backyard and beyond the back fence, is a forest of more trees and a small creek.  The next morning when I got up and could see the neighborhood in daylight, I was surprised to see so many different houses and many that are farm house style.  Certainly not like the “cookie-cutter” houses in most neighborhoods in Southern California.  Since the moving truck with my stuff on it was still in transit, I slept on the couch for two nights.

The next day, we went to pick up Elaina’s dog, Abby at the trainer’s home.  Abby was very excited to see me and jumped all over the place with excitement.  Elaina thinks Abby was thinking, “Where have you been?” My mom would have been so happy to see Abby’s behavior and would have been giggling about it for days. She was not a “dog” person, but mom loved Abby.

The moving truck arrived on the third day and was actually earlier than they had originally said.  The driver was the only one to unload the truck at the storage unit and at the house.  So happy to have my own bed and dresser, etc.  I would highly recommend that company again. So helpful.

Well, that's my first few days in my new adopted home.  I'll keep writing about my so-called adventures in new posts.  Thanks for reading!